SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — First, Draymond Green suggested to Warriors coach Steve Kerr that he come off the bench for Game 4 against the Sacramento Kings after Golden State had played so brilliantly without him.
Then at halftime Sunday, a couple of assistant coaches offered up the idea to Kerr that Green should defend De’Aaron Fox for the final two quarters.
Those collaborative, spot-on moves helped overshadow a late blunder, and now the defending champions are all tied up in their first-round playoff series at two games apiece.
Stephen Curry scored 32 points but gave Sacramento a late chance when he called a timeout Golden State didn’t have, then the Warriors held on to beat the Kings 126-125 on Sunday when Harrison Barnes missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
“These games are coming down to the wire, and you’ve just got to really finish possessions and try to give yourself the best chance, and then sometimes, it’s just, does the ball go in or not,” Kerr said.
Fox had 38 points, nine rebounds and five assists for Sacramento. His 3 with 28.7 seconds left pulled the Kings within one, then Curry missed a 16-foot jumper on the other end and Keegan Murray corralled the rebound. With Curry and Green defending, Fox dished to former Warrior Barnes for the potential game-winning 3, which hit the back of the rim.
Golden State led 126-121 with 42.4 seconds left when Curry called the excessive timeout, and Malik Monk made the technical free throw for Sacramento.
Klay Thompson made a baseline 3-pointer to beat the third-quarter buzzer and another with 3:24 left, finishing with 26 points for the Warriors.
Game 5 in the best-of-seven series is Wednesday night at Sacramento’s Golden 1 Center, where the Kings went ahead 2-0. The Warriors struggled on the road all year.
Curry’s 3 with 4:10 remaining gave Golden State a 121-117 lead and he finished 11 for 22 with five 3s while dueling all afternoon with Fox.
After Monk’s layup made it 107-106 Kings with 9:03 to play, Curry responded with a driving layup and a 3 in a 14-second span.